Thursday, June 30, 2011

9AM - Health reportProstate. There are a couple of health issues that might interest you. You may recall that I had my prostate operation one month ago on May 31st. There are no symptoms remaining from that operation. No longer do I get up at nite to use the bathroom. During the day when I have to go pee, I still have urgency problems. But urgency has nothing to do with the prostate. For me it has to do with the sphincter muscles of the bladder. I am doing exercise to strengthen these muscles and this seems to be working.

Emotional health issues are an ongoing challenge. Yesterday I wrote to you about the possibility of my using an anti-depressant. In order to get a prescription for an anti-depressant, I will need to see a psychiatrist. The plan is to return to the psychologist that I was seeing last October and ask her for a psychiatrist recommendation.

Sleeping pills. In addition to the anti-depressant, I am also going to ask the psychiatrist for medication to help me fall asleep. Often when I go to bed I begin thinking about the David situation and sleep does not come. Just after David's suicide because of being very upset, I did not sleep for several days in a row. I got a prescription for Temazapan 15mg. This is a sleeping pill that works really great for me. I use this medication from time to time and still have several capsules remaining from that original prescription.

Biopsy results. I just checked online for the results for the biopsy of the growth removed from my head on June 23rd. The lab does not have results yet.

In Pete & Frederika's yard

1PM - In the yard
I'm sitting on the dance stage. When Pete and the band have a get-together here, guests dance on this wood platform or stage. The home is far enough from any major streets so that traffic noise is minimal. Lots of tweeting birds though. I like that a lot! During the nite time, it is dead quiet here. No street lites shine on MsTioga during the nite.

Did I mention to you that I invested in a Verizon wireless modem? It is an extravagance because now I have three ways to get online. The Datastorm connects to HughesNet. Our Hawking Dish connects to unsecured WiFi. And now this tiny wireless Verizon modem plugs into a USB port and connects to the vast Verizon network. The Verizon works really great with the MacBook Pro, which is my favorite computer of all time. .

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

7AM - Exploring the harbor
This morning MsTioga and The Team are going to explore Bodega Harbor. We have been staying in Porto Bodega RV Park. In the pic below, MsTioga is at the "A" marker. We plan to drive on the road shown in the lower end of this pic. We will be driving on the spit of land that narrows the harbor from Bodega Bay.

I do not want continue going north until the medical results from my lab tests are in. You may recall that last week I had a growth taken from the right side of my head.

Bodega Harbor

Depressed?
My friends John & Mimi, both of whom are psychologists, wrote me an email suggesting that I am depressed and that an anti-depressant might be very appropriate for me to take at this time. I am looking into that.

There is no doubt that I have not been myself for quite awhile. I have been spending an extraordinary amount of time inside MsTioga watching movies. Although I enjoy watching movies, this kind of activity is not healthy for me. I should be much more active.

David's suicide appears to have really traumatized me. However, nine months have passed since then. I know that I am still grieving. But I should not be as emotionally disabled as I have been.

Note: I just wanted you to know that today I am feeling pretty good!

12 Noon - Heading inland
We drove all the way to the end of the jetty or spit which forms Bodega Harbor. As suspected, the jetty is man-made and was constructed by the Army Engineers. There are a ton of RV campsites alongside the jetty road which are called, "Doran Beach Campgrounds". Most of these campsites are reserved for the upcoming Independence Day holiday.

We have decided to go inland because the coastal area may be quite congested during the holiday. MsTioga stopped along the road to the City of Sebastopol in order to make this post to you.

5PM - Pete & Frederika's place
We have arrived at Pete & Frederika's place, our friends who live in the City of Sonoma, California. It is a gift from God that I have friends like these who share their home with me.

On the way here I passed an In-N-Out Burger! How could I resist eating supper there?

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

7AM - Bodega Bay
This is the beginning of our 3rd day camping in the Town of Bodega Bay, California. Alfred Hitchcock produced "The Birds" here, a 1963 movie about birds who go wild and begin attacking people.

Rain began falling about 5am. We used Mr. Levelers to tilt MsTioga so that the rain water flows off the roof. Our experience has been that no rain leaks inside if MsTioga is tilted like this.

So far, this has been a good day for me.

9AM - Powered up Honda generator
There is very little Sun this morning for charging our solar battery bank. So, we decided to power up our little 1kw Honda generator. The batteries are only 47 amp hours discharged. We could have gone on without using the Honda. But, we want to watch movies. That means more discharging.

We have not used the little Honda for a couple of months. The Honda could use a little exercise.

Monday, June 27, 2011

8AM - The truth
As I descended into the funk in which I am now living, my writing here in my blog did not clue you in. Not completely, anyway. There are reasons for not writing the real truth. For one thing, I did not want to bum you out! Another reason is that I believe that if a person wants to change something in their life, that person should act the way that they want to be. And then they will become that person. This concept follows the idea, "If you would have faith, act as if you have faith, and faith will be given to you." By acting as I hoped to be, I figured to rise out of this funk, this depression that I am in.

As I write these words to you, I really am not sure how truthful I should be here in my public blog. I'm just going to have to see how this thing goes and play it by ear.

3PM - Maybe not
What good would it do to let you in on all the things that go on in my mind? Those things that comprise all of my truth. Would that do you some good? Would that be good for me? Maybe not!

I am more tolerant now for people who use drugs to get thru their day. Although I do not use drugs, I use movies for the same reason that many people use drugs. To dull my senses. To slow down my consciousness. To keep me from asking, "Why?"

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Terrible mess!
I am very sorry to tell you that I am in a terrible mess! I hate writing about this to you, because in the past I have always been such a positive person. I have written before that everything works itself out. But that does not seem to be true for me anymore. There are some storms that cannot be weathered. And I seem to be going thru a storm that cannot be weathered right now.

Last nite I viewed a movie, "The Rebound". It is a love story that turns out well. Just the kind of story that I usually love to watch! But at the end of this movie when the guy and girl finally get together, the guy reminded me of my son David who never got the girl. I was devastated by that thought. I was not able to get to sleep until after 3am!

This morning things got worse. I was intending to go north along Highway #1, the coast route. Looking at my DeLorme map I saw that not too far away is Windemere Point near Fort Ross. That is where I cast out my Mother's ashes after she died. I knew in my heart that I did not want to go there at this time. Going there would really depress me!

So you see my dilemma? I am really messed up. I know that you will likely advise me to get mental therapy. But I already got therapy. And now here I am in my own blog having an emotional breakdown in front of everybody. What a bummer!

12 Noon - Bodega Bay
I decided to continue north despite heading to my Mom's scattering place. I have to be made of stronger stuff than how I wrote this morning! Anyway, what else am I going to do?

Saturday, June 25, 2011

8AM - Carquinez Strait
Yesterday afternoon we talked to a fellow who works in the Harbor Master's Office in the City of Benicia and asked if we could rent space to park MsTioga overnite. He told me that only boats could stay overnite in the Marina However, he suggested that if we would stay only one nite at the other end of the Marina, we probably would not be bothered. So, that is what we did!

Would you like to see where MsTioga is located? Click on the Google Map link below and back the map off a bit. You will find that our Nite Camp is alongside the Carquinez Strait. Down stream from here is the San Pablo Bay, then San Francisco Bay and then the Pacific Ocean.

Carquinez Strait is behind us

10AM - Heading west
We pulled out of the Benicia Marina and are heading west. On the way out MsTioga spotted a hose bibb and filled up our water tank. We do not know where we are heading to. MsTioga and I do not like to plan stuff like that. No reservations is our motto. Que sera, sera!

4PM - Olema RV Resort
MsTioga and The Team are staying at the Olema RV Resort & Campground. Yes, we have paid to stay here. $56.70 with the $6.30 Good Sam discount. We do not belong to Good Sam, but they gave us the discount anyway! Pretty neat, huh?

MsTioga is hoping that you are not too disappointed that she is paying to stay here. We are getting a bit long in the tooth to hold staunchly to our "never pay rent" motto. Stuff changes, right?

Friday, June 24, 2011

8AM - Benicia
Back in April, 2003, MsTioga and I were doing shake-down trips to find out how the stuff we were installing was working. Below is a pic of us in the Town of Benicia. This was before we began publishing our blog and may have been one of the first pics of MsTioga and myself together.

This morning we returned to Benicia to the same place and took another pic. We have traveled soooooo far, only to have returned to where we began.

George and MsTiogaCamped in Benicia, California-April, 2003

Camped in Benicia today

12 Noon - Nite Camp
It may be difficult to make our Nite Camp in the Town of Benicia. However, fearless MsTioga is going to try for a Nite Camp here anyway! And the plan is to be near the water too.

We are not going to disclose to you where this Nite Camp will be right now. Later this evening, we will put our Nite Camp location into the Google Map!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

5AM - Doctor this morning
Just yesterday MsTioga and I traveled to Berkeley, California and made a Day Camp there to escape the heat. And this morning at our Concord Nite Camp, we just turned on Mr. Wave6, our noble catalytic heater. It is not really very cold. Only 62°F. But we on the TiogaRV Team are spoiled. So we are treating ourselves to some heat.

My dermatology appointment is for this morning at 10am. I have to be there 15 minutes early to do the paperwork stuff. As I wrote to you before, the growth that I am having the doc look at is on my head in the area of my right side burn. Yesterday I used my electric razor to carefully remove that side burn hair that covered the thing. Although it is on the side of my head and a bit difficult to see, with the hair removed I am able to describe it. The growth looks sort of grayish and raised up. Kind of crusty looking. When I gently squeeze it, there is no pain.

I am hoping that the doctor removes the growth this morning.

11AM - Growth removed
What appeared to be a squamous cell was partially removed and is being sent out to a laboratory for a biopsy in order to determine if the growth is malignant. The growth was removed at the skin line so that any scar would be minimal. If the growth is malignant, I return to have surgery to remove the rest of the squamous cell.

I have a lot of stuff wrong with my skin. My skin is old and has been ravaged by exposure to the sun for many years. I am not striving to achieve immortality at this time in my life by medically addressing all the potentially cancerous growths on my skin. The only reason that I had this particular growth removed was because it kept on growing and it was getting in the way of barbers trying to cut my hair. Also, the thing was big and bugged me.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

6AM - Hot!
Yesterday after leaving David's house, our plan was to travel to the Pacific Ocean in order to escape the predicted 99°F high. However, we had to visit our bank to take care of a situation. By the time we left the bank it was 1:30pm. So, we suffered thru the afternoon under a shade tree. Inside MsTioga the temperature got over 100°F. By midnight it got down to 82°F and I was able to go bed.

You may recall that I have a dermatology appointment tomorrow morning in the City of Walnut Creek. That is why we are hanging around here enduring this hot weather. It is supposed to be a bit cooler today.

10AM - Berkeley
MsTioga and The Team are camped in the City of Berkeley. It's not hot here! When we traveled west of the Oakland Hills, the weather got cool. We are sooooooo happy to be here.